Maybe EA Should Keep This Quiet

EA Sports ran some dumb simulation that predicted the Lakers will win the title. Ok… I get it. The Lakers are good. Just add this to the pile of “Lakers will win it all predictions.” But that’s not where I have my beef. It’s with this:

The 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics remain a force, finishing third in the Eastern Conference with 44 wins before getting upset in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Miami Heat. Despite struggling throughout the 2007-08 season, the Heat advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since their NBA Championship win in 2006.

Yeah, that’s right. The Heat. The Miami Heat. Not only that… the Heat win 55 games and take the Lakers to 6 games. The Celtics… well, the Celtics win 44 games in this simulation. 44 games. Come on.

I don’t know about you guys… but this makes me not want to buy the game at all. 44 wins for the Celtics? 55 for Miami? I put their press release after the jump. Go buy NBA 2K9.

An EA SPORTS™ videogame simulation of the entire 2008–09 season using NBA LIVE 09 predicts that the Los Angeles Lakers will reach The Finals for the second year in a row, this time emerging victorious over the Miami Heat in six games. The 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics remain a force, finishing third in the Eastern Conference with 44 wins before getting upset in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Miami Heat. Despite struggling throughout the 2007-08 season, the Heat advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since their NBA Championship win in 2006.

NBA LIVE 09 simulation Award Winners:

·Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming completes an injury-free season and captures the MVP Award after posting 25.8 ppg and 11.1 rpg.

·Kobe Bryant of the championship winning Lakers leads the league in scoring with 27.9 ppg.

·Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves is awarded Most Improved Player Award.

·In addition to capturing the NBA Championship, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson will take home Coach of the Year honors.

A simulation is conducted by artificial intelligence or logic of the videogame that uses real-life data from each player. Results are extrapolated by the videogame when two teams match up based on player ratings, line combinations, and include variances such as injuries and hot streaks to give a realistic outcome of a game or series.

Pre-season simulations make the assumption that teams will stay healthy and play a season without any big trades, which would alter the end result. NBA LIVE 09 can now be used as a predictive throughout the season to simulate results of big match ups and the rest of the season with authentic data driving the artificial intelligence.

Powered by Synergy Sports Technology – the premier analytics provider of NBA data for more than 20 NBA teams – Dynamic DNA emulates an NBA player with absolute precision. Synergy Sports Technology indexes each possession of every NBA game in real time. This data will drive the logic of the game and update every single day of the season to reflect what you see on the court in your virtual experience. NBA LIVE 09 can now be used as a legitimate predictive tool and will be made fresh daily, with the start of the 2008-09 NBA season on October 28.

D-Wade did look good at the Olympics, so if he’s healthy they have a chance to get it…

BUT 44 wins??!! A few games over .500? Ill take the over please. Then again, I don’t really care about their record, as long as defense wins championships, I’m good. Can’t wait for tomorrow to see that banner get raised to the rafters, it’s been TOO LONG.

I bleed green in L.A. - October 27, 2008 at 8:00 pm

Me thinks they should have done a few simulations, and picked the best one. I agree, why on EARTH would anybody use this information to market a game that prides itself on simulation?